10 Signs Your Kitchen Was Definitely Designed in 2016

Sometimes a trend gets so popular that you know, in your heart of hearts, that it'll end up being the thing that'll end up looking a bit dated after a while. For instance, chevrons and the color combo of gray with yellow feels so 2015, even though we still like those ideas (in small doses). The following kitchens are undoubtedly beautiful, but each have one on-trend flourish that might just pinpoint the year of their design.

Maura McEvoy

Contrasting Colors

There's nothing like a pop of unexpected color to bring character to the kitchen, like this unique space by Colleen Bashaw for Scott Belair, the cofounder of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Many blogs jumped on this look, making this one of the defining trends of 2016.

This year, major appliances were disguised in all sorts of novel ways. In the Kitchen of the Year of 2016, designer Matthew Quinn hid the refrigerator behind clean-lined cabinets. It's an elegant take on a popular idea that's won many households over this year.

We still adore the woven texture and graceful lines of this type of counter stool, but we're definitely not alone. These bistro-inspired chairs might have replaced galvanized steel stools as the seating choice for kitchen islands and counters in 2016. Especially in blue, like in this breezy kitchen by Mark D. Sikes.

Whether shiny or slightly aged like the faucets in this chic kitchen by Grant K. Gibson, brass and gold hardware was one of the top picks for 2016. While it's not expected to fade (in style) anytime soon, we'll always remember this year as when the trend started reaching new heights.

It's a long-running trend, but open shelving reached their peak this year. A little boho, a little minimalist, these alternatives to typical cabinets were also used to give kitchens a more open feel. The 2016 take was to install open shelving in a contrasting color or material than the bottom cabinets, like in the kitchen of Jungalow blogger Justina Blakeney.

Perhaps inspired by the vintage-industrial trend that defined restaurants, cafes, and even coffee shops, pendants that look as if they came from a '30s or '40s-era school or business were the popular choice for 2016 kitchens (like this bright design by Christopher Peacock).

Large kitchen islands made us envious — after all, many seemed like the size of our first apartment's kitchen. We've seen these everywhere from Fixer Upper makeovers to the pages of our magazine, like this dramatic kitchen designed by Jim Dove. But we're hearing rumors that this trend may not last. Designer Leanne Ford predicts we'll be seeing a movement away from islands as big as a room towards tables, which feel a little bit more intimate (and, most importantly, can easily be moved when tastes change).

Yes, it's another technically-timeless kitchen choice, but the interest in big white sinks spiked in 2016. We can't think of the last time we didn't see one of these in a blogger's or designer kitchen. Though usually paired with marble countertops, farmhouse sinks also went with darker counters, like in this design by Kim Lewis.

The popular choice for everywhere else in your home, gray also took to kitchen cabinets in 2016. We find the choice very appropriate this year, as it seems like kitchen trends are kind of stuck between the white cabinets of years past and the black cabinets that keep promising to come back in style. It also goes well with neutrals, like this cozy kitchen by Frances Merrill.

This year, designers and bloggers alike sought to bring character to subway tile by the same design choice: Contrasting grout. Whether in a dark hue, like in this kitchen by Greg Natale, or even in glitter (let that sink in a moment), this is one trend that seemed to strike at the exact same moment in 2016.

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